Taffy Abel
Clarence John " Taffy " Abel ( born May 28, 1900 in Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, . † August 1, 1964 ) was an American professional ice hockey player who during his active career, among other things, for the New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks has played in the National Hockey League.
Career
Taffy Abel Ice Hockey first played in 1918 in the U.S. state of Michigan and was in the following four seasons for the Michigan Nationals Soo and Soo Michigan Wildcats on the ice. 1922 continued the defensive player his career at the St. Paul Athletic Club in the United States Amateur Hockey Association continued. After two good seasons he was in the squad of the U.S. national team for the Olympic Winter Games 1924. In this tournament, the defenders get 15 hits, including six goals in the two matches against Sweden and France. Only in the game against Canada, he was unsuccessful, this was also the only one lost game of Americans who thereby won the silver medal. After the tournament, he continued his career first as an amateur player still continued and went for another season in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on the ice.
There was a commitment to the Minneapolis Millers in the CHL before Abel received a contract with the New York Rangers in August 1926. Abel was the first U.S. field player in the history of the National Hockey League. In the Big Apple, he usually made a Verteidigerduo with Ching Johnson, both of which were regarded as particularly physically present actors and a durable duo were. In the 1927/28 season Abel reached with the Blueshirts the final series for the Stanley Cup. In the second match against the Montreal Maroons got injured the goalie Lorne Chabot the Rangers and was replaced from Personalnot by the General Manager Lester Patrick, who had previously never played as a goalkeeper. Patrick left in the game to only one goal and also thanks to the defensive work of the duo Abel Johnson and the Rangers won for the first time the prestigious trophy, the Stanley Cup. In April 1929, the Rangers Taffy Abel sold for $ 15,000 to the Chicago Blackhawks. Also in the Windy City was the defensive player who usually a duo with Mush March formed, a fixture in the squad and won with the Hawks in 1934 his second Stanley Cup. After this success, he ended his active career, in part because, since he had refused a raise of the owner of the Hawks.
In 1973 the United States Hockey Hall of Fame was opened, Abel was one of the 25 founding members. The home ground of the ice hockey team of the Lake Superior State University, the Taffy Abel Arena, was named after him.